Champagne Region

Interior of the Reims Catedral

Champagne is a historic French region located less than two hours by car from Paris to the east, with Reims as its main city, known for its majestic 13th-century cathedral and its Christmas market. Reims was in Roman times a very important city, capital of “second Belgium”, and there still undergoes elements like the Door of Mars, mosaics, as well as cavities dug in the chalky basement, still used today like cellars for champagne!

Tattinger cellar, dug under Roman occupation

Nicolas Ruinart was the first wine merchant to understand the interest of these humid underground cellars with a stable temperature of ten degrees in the process of making sparkling wine in the 18th century. 124 miles of cellars and chalk pits run under the cobblestones of Reims, protecting millions of bottles of Champagne being produced by -20 to -40 meters underground. The main Champagne houses in Reims are Tattinger, Mumm, Pommery, Ruinart, and all you have to do is specify that you want to visit for us to personalize your excursion! Reims is also the French capital of Art Deco architecture, which in the 1920s inspired the reconstruction of the city martyred by the German bombings of the Great War.

Champagne avenue in Epernay

The other major city in the region is Epernay, 30 minutes further south, surrounded by hills where vineyards classified as UNESCO World Heritage flourish. Our excursions systematically stop here for a walk-in “Champagne avenue” where the big houses follow one another like Moët-Chandon, Perrier, Mercier, Castellane…

Dom Perignon abbey in Hautvillers

A few kilometers away, the typical village of Hautvillers is home to the abbey where Dom Pérignon, cellar master, invented the famous sparkling wine. His tomb in the abbey church is a stage in our visits.